At the time of this trip I felt very lucky to be a part of the adventure...I was forever changed afterwards because of the experience... the world also forever changed starting about a year later... the conflict between India and Pakistan stopped non-stop air travel between the two countries and Pan Am made the changes and added alternate destinations to this route... more than anything I'm really happy that I got to experience Beirut before the conflicts and terrorism changed the complexion of that city forever.
I really started to evolve during the next part of the trip... I was used to going to (how do I put this) cleaner places with better plumbing and sanitation... This leg of the trip made me realize that...missing the places that are messy and dirty would have deprived me of actually seeing the world and the people in it for what is actually is and who they really are.
I'm not going to complain about the heat so much in this segment... because I learned in India and Pakistan that the intense summer heat, mixed with deluges of rain and a strong smell of raw sewage... is much, much worse than mere heat... and complaining about will do nothing to change it and somehow make it better... but before I move on from this... I should probably tell you that a public bathroom experience in Bangkok during this trip and another experience in Manilla a few years later are the reasons I hate using public facilities unless it's an emergency...
And so we continue our journey in Kolkata (formally Calcutta) about a two and a half hour flight and land at Kolkata International Airport (CCU) in Dum Dum about 11 miles or so to our hotel... Our Visas had to filed at the Indian Embassy before we left the United States and we presented them along with
- Passport
- Photos
- Proof Of US Residency (a phone or electric bill)
- Proof Of Profession (a pay stub)
- Proof Of Financial Security ( bank statement)
- Travel Itinerary (with address and phone numbers of hotels)
- Visa Application Fee Receipt
For those of you old enough to remember traveling to certain places during this era... not every airport was equipped with jet ways that took you from the plane to the terminal... you got off the aircraft on a rolling stairway and walked to the terminal... in this case during a downpour and high wind (I still don't travel with a raincoat but I do pack a small umbrella If I know it's the rainy season where I'm landing)... so off we went in about four cabs to the Oberi Grand Hotel...
There is amazing architecture and some wonderful museums since it rained the entire time we were there (about 36 hours) we spent most of it indoors...
we did a little shopping but mostly we stayed at the hotel and ate and drank (and finished off our duty free alcohol since we could not take it to Pakistan) and played cards (I credit this trip with learning how to properly and confidently bid playing bridge) it really was not a complete washout... one of our group made a very profound comment... that's stayed with me to this very day... "Every single person you meet and every single thing that happens to you in your life is preparing you for something in the future"...With that brought a beautiful sunrise with no rain and we found our way back to the airport for the roughly 3 hour flight to Pakistan.
Karachi International Airport (KHI) now Jinnah International Airport...
A few people of our little group were starting to lose heart with this since the previous leg of the trip... we knew going in that if we wanted to skip a destination we could reroute through another Pan Am city... and I of tender years while we were waiting to go through Customs and Immigration came up with this little gem..."OK we made it this far... let's keep going if for nothing else... to see what happens here because chances are none of us are likely to come back"
Going through Customs was pretty much a rerun of Kolkata with another Travel Visa and everything that you need to go with it... Again we only had about 36 hours here and spent most of it at The Intercontinental Hotel... they had an airport shuttle for Pan Am passengers who were hotel guests...
We were all kind of lost in our own thoughts on the way from the airport...
We met up with the crew in one of our rooms and each of us armed with provisions... decided to stay in and have room service... and relax and wait for our return to the airport...
About six months after this trip there as a horrible terrorism attack at the airport and I said to someone on the trip (we did keep in touch)... I'm glad we went... but I'm not going back"
The flight to Beirut International Airport (BEY) was about 4 and a half hours... and we were becoming travel pros... Here we had Visa On Arrival again...we were about 5 miles or so to The Phoenicia Hotel
All I can say here is that this part of the trip made the somewhat disappointing last two legs all worth it... none of us wanted to leave and I'm happy beyond belief that we were able to experience Beirut before their political troubles changed it forever... I said that I was going to include Istanbul in this passage... but I'm going to start with that next time... because I found this YouTube clip when I was looking for some images on line and it's worth the watch because this gives you a real taste of what we experienced in the 2 and half day stop there... I said to someone later... we were there at exactly the perfect time!
I hope you will join me next month!
